UK windfarms to combine into one ‘super project’

The project will be capable of generating enough renewable energy to power over five million homes, SSE claims

Berwick Bank Wind Farm will be located approximately 40km off the coast of East Lothian (SSE)

A pair of proposed offshore wind farms will be merged into one ‘super project’ development.

Berwick Bank and Marr Bank offshore wind farms, off the east coast of Scotland, have been brought together into one single wind farm known as Berwick Bank Wind Farm.

SSE Renewables claims the site will accelerate Scotland’s net-zero ambitions and help tackle the climate crisis.

With a potential output of 4.1GW, Berwick Bank Wind Farm, approximately 40km off the coast of East Lothian, would more than double the size of current offshore wind either in construction or operational in Scotland at the moment, SSE claims.

It would also increase the country’s overall renewable energy capacity by nearly 30%.

The project will be capable of generating enough renewable energy to power over five million homes, SSE claims. This would be equivalent to all of Scotland’s households twice over and avoid eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year – similar to removing all of Scotland’s annual car emissions.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Climate Change Michael Matheson said: “Decarbonising our energy demands is a vital component of our just transition to net-zero and our world-leading renewables sector will play a vital role in this.

“The continuing growth of offshore wind over the next decade will be crucial to meeting our incredibly stretching, near-term climate targets, and we will need to work innovatively, at pace and with agility to do so.

“I welcome this announcement from SSE Renewables which demonstrates their commitment to helping Scotland’s contribution to climate change within a generation.”

Berwick Bank Wind Farm’s planning application is expected to go to the Scottish Government in Spring 2022.

Alex Meredith, SSE Renewables’ Berwick Bank Project Director said: “By combining the two project proposals into a super project we believe we can deliver Berwick Bank Wind Farm – one of the world’s largest offshore wind opportunities – more quickly.”